20 of the most cheerful holiday characters ranked

8. Susan (Miracle on 34th Street)

Here’s a totally classic movie that pretty much a required watch during Christmastime: Miracle on 34th Street. From the introduction of Santa Claus at the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade to the courtroom where we prove once and for all that the Macy’s Kris Kringle is the real Santa Claus (thank you to the Post Office), this is a timeless story full of everything you want in the holidays, including a romance.

But most of all it is about believing in miracles. And if anyone in this film truly believed, it had to be Susan. While she was initially skeptical thanks to her mother’s own lack of belief, over the course of the movie, we watch this young girl rediscover what it means to be a child filled with wonder. And it actually makes her a more cheerful person, which helped to make us more cheerful as well.

The holidays are a magical time, and watching Susan’s own journey fills us with the joy of the season every single year. In fact, it wouldn’t quite be the holidays without seeing Susan running into a home for sale convinced once and for all that Kris Kringle is, in fact, the real Santa Claus.